1/1 I have been a regular at many Geographical Society talks in recent years in Edinburgh. And I find them to be fascinating & very informative. But there are some issues which I has been niggling me & I have to put them out. Caveat: #Thread.
1/2. Though speakers end up traveling to the majority world, there is rarely any discussion on how these former Anglo European colonies dealt with years of systematic loot and oppression. For example, in today’s talk with a legendary photographer, he said & I quote:
1/3. “Of course there was no Pakistan then. There was only India. And you know we were running India then”. He was talking about his trip to Karakoram. He just papered over UKs role in dividing the subcontinent & what horrors unfolded, which we are still living with.
1/4. The traces of white privilege in these talks have always bothered me. They never talk about how they easily access these places because of their wealth & privilege & make it seem like an amazing adventure they have accomplished on their own.
1/5. Some mandatory shots of porters, guides & translators are all that you get. They mimic the mood & tone of Victorian explorers, where they were used to locals cooking for them and carrying their load. I have heard a lot of “such sturdy people” or “highly intelligent”.
1/5 Comments that really upset me. Because it shows how the colonial gaze has not changed all these years. Only rare exception was Wade Davis’s presentation on indigenous knowledge but that’s also because he is an anthropologist & spend years in the field.
1/6. It is not that explorers cannot be nuanced & well engaged with the landscape. Look up the amazing work Paul Salopek is doing with his #OutofEdenWalk. That for me is a benchmark on how these explorations should take place.
1/7. A lot of these talks reinforce the fond British gaze for its formal colonies, now ravaged by war and “underdeveloped” they now are. How the old British bridge still stands, but the roads are falling apart. etc etc. Usual tropes which reify the glory of the empire.
1/8. The speakers are well meaning but I see that they carry a lot of socio cultural baggage & they will not shed it any time soon. This tells me that when you add “geography” with “royal society” there is not much room there for reflexivity or humility either.
1/9. These talks perform two roles simultaneously. They open new vistas for the audience but also narrow down their political engagement. I hope they perform a wider role beyond nice photographs & stories. But in my last 3 years experience, I doubt it will be the case. End.
